Pictures with Santa

This was the plan - dress all the kids in red shirts and blue jeans then meet at the mall to get a group picture with Santa, all 5 of them. That was the plan. The first to go was Kyler. As soon as she hit Santa's lap, the crying began. Sydney was next. We all know that Sydney always has a delayed reaction, and hers wasn't far off from Kyler. Isabella went next, and when all three girls were on Santa's lap, it was a chorus of cries. But don't forget the fellas. Andon, was next and he cried instantly and soon followed Ryan. All in all, the Santa idea was a bust, hence all the mom's in the photo. I'm glad though. These are the women I've spent the entire year with, and I couldn't of had a better photograph of this memory.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Rites of Passage - It's Isabella's Turn.

If ever there was a princess on her birthday, it was Isabella on her first. The most beautiful girl in the room in her peach dress made of a hand-knitted bodice and peach silk skirt attached with pretty sequin and taffeta flowers. Lots of music and toys for the kids. Lots of space to run around. Sydney was sleeping in the beginning and took her a half-hour to observe and soak in her surroundings.

Meanwhile, Ryan and Andon were wrestling around the room. Andon started off as the aggressor by grabbing his face and planting him into the floor, but at the end of the altercation, Andon was running for dear life from Ryan.
Fortunately for Andon, no baby in the valley can outrun him, but Ryan stood his ground. This was a momentus day for him. He definitely became a man on the tough carpets of the Doubletree Inn.

Power walking through the neighborhood

Sydney's got her leggings, walking shoes, hoodie, and beanie. She's ready to power walk the place where she is. We start from our drive way and make it to the mailbox. It's hit or miss if she loses balance on the slight slope to the street as she goes around the culdersac. We meet the neighborhood cat on the way, go for a pet then push on.

Now we are heading down Via Zapata say hi to the neighbors next door, Mr. & Mrs. Johnson. We make a right on Harlan and its uphill. Instead, Sydney turns around and goes back down. (like mother like daughter) Of course, dad makes her turn around (same thing he does to me) and we press on to Dolan Park. At Dolan, we run into a local big black dog and her owner - not going to stop and pet this one.

Again Dolan is a slight uphill park, Sydney starts heading down. At this point we go in the stroller and start heading back down to Via Zapata and bring her out 4 doors down from home. 15 minutes later, she quenches her thirst with a big sippy cup full of water and crashes in her crib.

Good Job Sydney! Next time we'll pick up the pace and do it in 45-minutes flat.

Our First Thanksgiving in Dublin

This year we hosted Thanksgiving in our new home in Dublin. Both parents, grandparents, sisters, brother-in-law and friend made up a great lunch/dinner of 12. Brett made turkey for the first time and it was excellent. He followed the directions for cooking time and still came up an hour short but it was complete perfection. Unfortunately, in that hour we lost the dinner rolls and a hotline call to 1-800-butterball was made to save the gravy. Many bottles of wine laters, we all sat down for a fancy feast around 2:30pm. Thanks to everyone who made it possible:

Mama Nuckols for her Fatoush
Mama Patel for her Indian potatoes and Gulab Jambu
Sister Patel for her Pumpkin and Pecan Pies
Grandma Nuckols for her Sweet Potatoes and Cranberry Sauce
Papa Nuckols for the red and white wine selection

It was a great time, but next year, can't wait to be the one bringing the side dish!

Aunt Tina & Uncle Ken Visit

We had a great time with Aunt Tina and Uncle Ken. They drove up Thursday night and spent the whole day Friday with us. We went through the Livermore wine country to a great litttle Italian winery called Tamas Estates. They had the best Sangiovese. It's my favorite. Sydney was a little reluctant to step inside, but she made it through and just walked around while we tasted. Ken and Tina bought a bottle of port for Ken's big Cheese & Port birthday party coming up on December 10th. We just drove around the beautiful wine country. All the leaves were turning all shades of gold. We then went to a Tequila Taqueria in downtown Livermore for some excellent mexican food. That will be our new thing - wine tasting then the taqueria. That's where the photo is taken, in the town square. We had a great weekend and hope Uncle Ken and Aunt Tina will visit us soon.

Falling Leaves

It's fall time and it's a bit chilly outside. Now that Sydney is walking it's fun to play with her outside with all the leaves on the ground. She's out and about everywhere. Always walking non-stop. We walk to the mailbox together, get the mail, pet the neighborhood cat, walk across the street and around the culdersac. Of course, along the way, we have to watch out for bark, stones, and dirt that want to find her way into the mouth. She won't eat any vegetables, but she'll eat anything off the ground. This weekend, Uncle Ken and Aunt Tina are coming up. Should be fun.

Ryan turns 1!

We had a great time at Ryan's first birthday party. He was wearing a nice pullover with cute slacks and some nike's. If you wanted to spot him, he would be near the ice bucket throwing the ice out. All the babies were there plus lots of kids everywhere. Becky had a big jumping thing ( i dont know what its' called) and a plastic full of balls. The food was great - yummy cheeseburgers and a chocalate cake. We gave sydney her first broccli, she picked at it a while, threw it on the ground. But eventually, she ate bits of it. It's progress.

Sydney's First Birthday

I really enjoyed throwing sydney's first birthday this year. I think she enjoyed it too. I think I'm going to dress her up in a costume every year for her birthday. Why not! At least until she thinks it's not cool anymore. We had nine babies here all wearing fun costumes. We ate hot dogs, chili and pasta salad. Had a bumblebee cake (lemon chiffon - tangy). Sydney's ma made samosas and her masi made spinach dip. I made Brett and his dad blow up 100+ balloons (yellow, orange and black). No major dramas. Just good times.



This marks the end of an era, we all made it through the first year safe and sound.

Andon's a Big Boy!!!!

Today is the 2nd day of the 1st year. We're off to our friends birthday today, Andon Edman. It's the 1st day of his 1st year. Pretty exciting!!!

All the kids just playing around. We sang some songs together in english and swedish. Had some yummy princess cake. Sydney kept hanging out by the kitchen trying to get in through the gates. No luck.